Facebook Friends - Arc Worldwide, Kuala Lumpur
Women’s Aid Organisation
Issue 12 | September 2009
Agency
Arc Worldwide, Kuala Lumpur
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director: Tan Kien Eng, Creative Directors: Valerie Chen, Theresa Tsang, Art Directors: Phianphon Sitichaidecha, Theresa Tsang, Copywriters:Nik Faraliza, Valerie Chen
Production Team
Chia Kah Yau, Mizhael Kong
Other Credits
3DFX Designer: Eric Liaw
Date
2009
Background
WAO wanted to reach as many people as possible in Malaysia for as little money as possible. The aim? To raise awareness that domestic violence can happen to anyone and raise support for the organisation’s work.
Idea
Two fictional profiles were created on Facebook, one for Lynna, who was a victim of domestic abuse, and the other for Benny, an aggressor.
Female Facebook users were then invited to become friends with Lynna and male users with Benny.
At first the new friends seem normal, attractive individuals but on closer inspection of their pages users began to notice hints of their personal issues.
Their true identities – as fictional characters created to make a serious point about how violence is hidden – were revealed at the end and users invited to join the WAO Facebook group.
Results
For a less web-savvy market like Malaysia, the results were encouraging.
Lynna got 659 friends, Benny 629.
1,106 people joined the WAO Facebook Group – though all those numbers are continuing to grow.
The campaign sparked positive reactions from facebook users around the world and helped raise awareness as well as offering help to people at risk in Malaysia.
Our Thoughts
These days we are all asked to think about Facebook on every job we do. It’s not always appropriate. Here it is and it is done well, although I fear Saatchi New Zealand’s ‘Made Up Victims’ from a few years ago was even better. Still, this is a smart way of using Facebook to bring this issue to life in a surprising and effective manner.